Death in the Streets of UtrechtA letter to my beloved father, Siamak Pourzand, whose precious heart stopped beating in Tehran tonight in a torturous solitude imposed on him by the current rulers of Iran. -Azadeh Pourzand - 4/30/11

Ahmadinejad Rebuked Over His Chief Of Staff Mahmoud Ahmadinejad came under attack today from the Supreme Leader's deputy representative to the Revolutionary Guards, the latest sign of the dispute between the Iranian president and factions representing Ayatollah Khamenei. - 4/30/11

Photos: National Day of Persian Gulf, Qeshm Island National Persian Gulf Day was commemorated during a ceremony in Iranian island of Qeshm on Saturday. National Persian Gulf Day marks the anniversary of the expulsion of Portuguese military forces from the Strait of Hormuz in 1622, during the reign of Safavid king Shah Abbas I (1587-1629). -Asghar Besharati - 4/30/11

Tehran's Famous Eateries Survive Fast-Food Revolution The number of chain restaurants and fast-food outlets in the huge shopping malls of Tehran are increasing every day, rivaling the city's traditional eateries. The old and well-known restaurants and sandwich shops still have their own regular customers, who come for the classic Iranian dishes on offer. -Farshid Alyan, IWPR - 4/30/11

Protest Crackdowns Leave Almost 62 Dead in Syria Witnesses and activists in Syria say at least 62 people were killed when security forces opened fire in a crackdown on anti-government protests. Tens of thousands of demonstrators took to the streets nationwide on Friday, declared by young protesters to be a "day of rage" against the authoritarian government of President Bashar al-Assad. - 4/30/11

Iran says all but 100 Camp Ashraf residents are pardoned Iran's ambassador to Iraq announced that "all members of Camp Ashraf are pardoned, except for 100 people who have pending judiciary files." Hassan Danaifar told ISNA that "other members of Camp Ashraf are free to return to our dear country or travel wherever they wish." -Zamaneh - 4/30/11

US Imposes New Sanctions Against Syria Over Crackdown The United States imposed sanctions Friday on Syria's intelligence agency and two relatives of President Bashar al-Assad over the Damascus government's bloody crackdown on democracy protestors. Officials say the penalties may be later be expanded to include the Syrian leader himself. -VOA - 4/30/11

Louvre claims it gave no commitment to hold exhibit in Iran On April 4, CHTHO Director Hamid Baqaii, who is also the vice president for executive affairs and the caretaker of the Presidential Office, said that Iran cut its cultural links with the Louvre as the museum continued to renege on its agreements with the country. - 4/30/11

Iranian Navy Rescues Cargo Ship From Pirates Iranian navy which managed to thwart the plot through a meticulous and vigilant action saved "Zarsan" cargo ship in 30 miles off the southern coast of Karachi in Pakistan. -ISNA - 4/30/11

Photos: Traditional Wedding in Persign Gulf Island of Qeshm, Iran In Qeshm, the groom moves into his in laws' house. Traditions have remained well preserved in Qeshm due to the isolated and proud nature of the local people. Their industries, architecture, customs and rituals have changed very little over the course of time and authenticity has been maintained in many aspects. No better place is this visible than in a local Qeshm wedding. -Asghar Besharati - 4/29/11

Ross Mirkarimi the Next Sheriff in Town?The Public Affairs Alliance of Iranian Americans (PAAIA) and its connected PAC, the Iranian American Political Action Committee (IAPAC), recently had the opportunity to sit down with Supervisor Ross Mirkarimi and discuss his campaign for San Francisco Sheriff. If successful, Mirkarimi would make history by becoming the first American of Iranian descent to be elected Sheriff in the United States. - 4/29/11

NIAC Ambassador - Defending the Iranian American's Voice "Did you know there are more Iranians than Cubans in this country? Yet, the Cuban community is so well represented in both Florida and DC. Through awareness and education, a lot of discrimination will stop. The more people know Iranians, the less likely to be discriminatory," said Sepideh Mortazavi, NIAC Ambassador. -Sarah Ravani - 4/29/11

Five Iranian Americans to Receive Ellis Island Medal of Honor Award Five highly accomplished Iranian Americans will be awarded the 2011 Ellis Island Medal of Honor on May 7th, 2011 for outstanding achievement in their personal and professional lives coupled with preservation of their culture and heritage and noteworthy citizenship to the United States. -PAAIA - 4/29/11

New Appeals For Sick Iranian Labor Activist In Jail Family and supporters of jailed Iranian union leader Mansour Osanlu have renewed appeals for authorities to let him out for medical treatment, saying his health condition has worsened, RFE/RL's Radio Farda reports. - 4/29/11

Germany-Iran trade grows 9% in 2010 The value of trade between Tehran and Berlin has increased from around 4.3 billion euro in 2009 to nearly 4.7 billion euro in 2010, showing some 9 percent rise year on year. - 4/29/11

In Shift, Egypt Warms to Iran and Hamas, Israel's FoesEgypt is charting a new course in its foreign policy that has already begun shaking up the established order in the Middle East, planning to open the blockaded border with Gaza and normalizing relations with two of Israel and the West's Islamist foes, Hamas and Iran. -NY Times - 4/29/11

Iranians on Madison Avenue: Culture as Hope in the Absence of Politics This past weekend in Manhattan, three mounted NYPD officers led a procession of Iranians across ethnic, religious, and provincial groups (from Armenians and Kurds to Zoroastrians to people from Gilan to Shiraz) and Los Angeles recording artists. The officer in the middle carried a flag that has not been officially recognized by the Iranian government of the past three decades. -Kia Makarechi, Huffington Post - 4/29/11

Poetry in Representation of Nature: Iranian Artist Farideh Lashai Fadrideh Lashai is a multimedia artist, a perfect artist. It is forty years now that she paints and having held 25 solo exhibitions and participating in more than 80 group exhibition she is one of the most active Iranian female visual artists known. -Tavoos - 4/28/11

Saeed Tajik Tells Rooz: "I Called the Hashemi Bitch an Ass and There was an Uproar" Look. When someone stands in the way of religion, then, as the imam (Khomeini) said, it must be confronted. I will tear the mouth of a person who comes to a Friday prayer holding his girl-friend's hand, licking an ice-cream and wants to perform prayers with his shoes on. They are not the people and must be executed. Read the Quran. -Nooshabeh Amiri, Rooz - 4/28/11

Nation of Exiles: A film about Iran's Green Movement Bavand Karim is an Iranian-American writer and filmmaker living in Dallas, Texas. His recent film, Nation of Exiles, examines the roots of Iran's Green Movement and the role of social media in the events that took place during June 2009. To make this film, Bavand gathered video online posted by demonstrators, along with news reports and he conducted interviews with scholars around the country. - 4/28/11

Dervishes Protest In Northeastern Iran Gonabadi dervishes are reported to have converged on the northeastern Iranian city of Beydokht this week to protest the summoning of their leader to court, RFE/RL's Radio Farda reports. - 4/28/11

Iranian author Houshang Asadi receives 2011 International Human Rights Award The 2011 International Human Rights Award has been awarded to HOUSHANG ASADI for his remarkable memoir. LETTERS TO MY TORTURER details the events following the Islamic Revolution of 1979. Houshang Asadi recounts in horrific yet gripping detail, the reality of life as a prisoner in one of the most hostile prisons in Iran - and probably the world. - 4/28/11

Support PKCF at the Richmond Half Marathon 8th May 2011 Yasmina Borhani, Nasim Elahi, and Tamila Jazayeri are raising funds for PKCF. The Popli Khalatbari Charitable Foundation was founded in 1998. The aim of the foundation is to support charitable purposes worldwide, in particular, the education and welfare of children and young persons who by reason of disablement, social and economic circumstances, have need of such provisions. - 4/28/11

Iranian Singer Manouchehr Sakhai: 1935-2011 This morning, Manouchehr Sakhai, one of the pioneers of Persian pop music passed away in California. He was 76. Manouchehr had struggled with cancer for the past few years. -Pejman Akbarzadeh - 4/28/11

Queiroz: Now is time for cries of Iran national team's rivals Iranian national football coach Carlos Queiroz said on Thursday now is the time for cries of the team's rivals. "I am so happy that we have obtained positive results after 3-4 weeks that we have examined Iran's football situation," he told reporters in his first press conference. - 4/28/11

Iran hails Hamas-Fatah agreement Iranian Foreign Minister Ali Akbar Salehi hailed the recent agreement between Fatah and Hamas. The Palestinian Hamas and Fatah have reached a preliminary agreement to form a unity government. The accord brokered by Egypt calls for legislative and presidential elections in a year. - 4/28/11

Iranian MPs call for impeachment of Ahmadinejad Twelve Iranian MPs have called for the impeachment of Mahmoud Ahmadinejad for numerous violations of laws approved by parliament. Parleman News published this story but did not include the names of the 12 signatories demanding Ahmadinejad's impeachment. - 4/27/11

Iran Raises Price of Bread in Subsidy Phaseout Iran has raised the price of bread by as much as 25 percent as part of a plan to phase out government subsidies. The price hike, which took effect Tuesday, increases the cost of the four most popular types of bread to as much as 45 cents a loaf. - 4/27/11

IAAB Launches New Leadership in Action Fellowship IAAB is proud to announce its new Leadership in Action (LIA) Fellowship. The LIA Fellowship program offers young leaders the opportunity to create and implement a program that will directly benefit a specific segment of the Iranian diaspora community on a local, regional, or national level. - 4/27/11

Hundreds Of Iranian Workers Protest For Back Wages Workers at the Alborz tire factory near Tehran have rallied in front of Iran's presidential office to demand nine months' of unpaid wages and the reopening of the plant, RFE/RL's Radio Farda reports. - 4/27/11

Iran: Dissident cleric condemns sentences against his students On his website Hadis-e Sarv, the outspoken critic of the government writes that 10 of his seminarians who "defended themselves" in the Qods Day attack on the Ghoba Mosque by "plainclothes forces" have received sentences such as steep monetary fines, seven months in prison, exile from Shiraz and defrocking. - 4/27/11

Iran Parliament Approves Draft of National Budget Bill The national budget bill envisages about $513 billion of expenditures for the fiscal year. There is a 45 percent increase in the national budget compared to the national budget of the previous Iranian calendar year. - 4/27/11

Syria Amid Revolution and Reform Our media (in Iran) has made a big mistake in not covering the Syrian conflict; it has actually fallen behind the Syrian media in covering the issue. The Syrian media, albeit late, did cover the people's protests against Bashar al-Assad. When an important event- like the Syrian protests- take place around the world and our media doesn't cover it, it shows our lack of vision and understanding of media concepts. -Iranian Diplomacy - 4/27/11

The Ice Melts In Iran's Cold War With Egypt The 2,400 kilometers or so separating Cairo from Tehran might have been enough to keep relations at arm's length. But for the past three decades, the realities of geography dividing Egypt and Iran have been stretched into a yawning chasm by the shadow of one Khalid Islambouli. - Robert Tait, RFE - 4/27/11

Is Mahmoud Ahmadinejad about to resign? "This year will be a difficult year. Fasten your seatbelt and put on your iron-clad boots. Soon commotions will be heard." According to the Tehran-based Javan Online - a publication close to the Revolutionary Guards - this statement was made by President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad's senior adviser and confidant, Esfandiyar Rahim Meshai, days before the forced resignation of Iran's intelligence minister, Heydar Moslehi, on 17 April. -Guardian - 4/27/11

Washington Failing to Understand Iran's OppositionThe popular uprisings that have brought turmoil to Arab countries across the Middle East and North Africa have also underscored Washington's dearth of knowledge about forces on the ground in authoritarian states in the Middle East. One of the largest questions bedeviling policy makers has been the composition of various emerging opposition movements. -Ali Gharib, IPS - 4/27/11

Bahrain in the shadow of Iran, Saudi Arabia and the United States In Bahrain, military forces dispatched from Saudi Arabia have helped suppress the protest, and for pragmatic reasons: From the perspective of the Saudi state, a Shia-dominated Bahrain could be a potential ally of Iran, and the downfall of a tribal monarchy that rests on a comparably absolute mandate to rule could trigger a domino effect throughout the Arabian peninsula. -Arshin Adib-Moghaddam, CNN - 4/27/11

Faezeh Hashemi: The Country (Iran) is in the Hands of Thugs The interview began with Faezeh's laugher, and ended that way too. But in between I could see sadness in her face. I spoke with her about the Green Movement, the future Majlis elections, the controversial elections of 2009, and other issues. Her views confirm that Faezeh has clearly established herself as a leading personality independent of her father, Hashemi Rafsanjani -Mohammad Reza Yazdanpanah , Rooz - 4/26/11

IAAB's 5th International Conference on the Iranian Diaspora: Call for Papers IAAB is a pleased to announce the 5th International Conference on the Iranian Diaspora to take place in Fall 2011. The International Conference was IAAB's first program in 2004 and has been instrumental in the creation of a critical engagement with issues facing the Iranian diaspora among academics, NGO leaders, artists, students, activists, and many others. - 4/26/11

Hossein Karroubi Talks About His Father's Detention & The Future of the Green Movement In an email interview with Rooz Online, Hossein Karroubi, Mehdi Karroubi's son states that he has become a fugitive and although he describes the current situation as difficult and dark, reiterates that his father always believed that this approach to governance is unsustainable and the regime will sooner or later have to give in to the will of the people, for there is no opponent more formidable than the people of Iran, a nation that now more than ever, has serious doubts about the legitimacy of its own government. - 4/26/11

Why Is Ahmadinejad Sulking? There seem to be increasing tensions between Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei and President Mahmud Ahmadinejad. In the latest sign of the dispute, presidential media adviser Ali Akbar Javanfekr, who is also the managing editor of IRNA, Iran's official news agency, was summoned to court. -Golnaz Esfandiari, RFE - 4/26/11

Uprisings in Bahrain Ratchet Up Tension With Iran As uprisings in the Middle East have spread in recent months, one key Persian Gulf country - Bahrain - has become the scene of demonstrations demanding greater political freedoms. But the situation in Bahrain is not entirely internal. - 4/26/11

Iran Holds 40% Share in World Carpet Market Iran is the source of almost 40% of the world's exported carpets, Iranian Commerce Minister Mehdi Qazanfari announced on Tuesday, adding that the country's carpet exports amounted to USD500mln in the last Iranian year (ended on March 20). - 4/26/11

Iran Signs Persian Gulf-Central Asia Transport Corridor Agreement The Persian-Gulf-Central Asia transport corridor deal was signed between 5 regional countries including the Islamic Republic of Iran. Iran, Oman, Qatar, Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan on Monday signed an agreement on transportation and the transit of goods via railway, sea and land. Moj News - 4/26/11

Omar Khayyam's Statue to be installed at Madrid University Madrid University is due to unveil a statue of the celebrated Persian philosopher, astronomer, mathematician, and above all poet, Omar Khayyam, in a ceremony on May 18. Spain's Complutense University is set to unveil a statue of Omar Khayyam in an effort to honor the world-renowned Persian polymath and poet. - 4/26/11

The Longest Iranian Economic Recession: Interview with Saeed Laylaz, an economics expert According to a recent report by the IMF, Iran's economic growth in 2011 will fall to 0%. Perhaps it is the developments we are witnessing in Middle Eastern countries that have influenced Iran's economy. However, Saeed Laylaz, an economics expert, believes that these developments not only had no negative influence on Iran's economy, but they actually have had a positive effect. -Iranian Diplomacy - 4/25/11

Photos: Ardeh Village in Northern Iran The lush greeness and intact nature of rural areas is just one of the many beauties luring everyone into a visit to the Northern Iran. Ardeh village is located in northern Iran in the province of Gilan close to the Caspian Sea. -Morteza Rafikhah - 4/25/11

Photos: Prosthetic Limbs Shop in Tehran These photos show prosthetic limb making and retrofitting in Iranian capital city Tehran. Due to hundreds of thousands of injuries during Iran-Iraq war (1980-1988), prosthetic limbs were in big demand, and Iran developed expertise in making them. -Majid Asgaripour - 4/25/11

Iranian labor activists to face trial As International Workers' Day approaches, the Islamic Republic judiciary has announced the trial dates for a number of detained members of Tehran's Vahed public transit drivers union. -Zamaneh - 4/25/11

Three Americans to stand trial in Iran mid MayThree Americans imprisoned in Iran are to stand trial on May 11. The lawyer of the three US nationals, Massoud Shafiei told ISNA that Iranian Foreign Ministry has issued summons for Sarah Shourd, one of the prisoners released last year, to appear in the court. - 4/25/11

Iran builds all-composite sport airplane Iranian scientists manufactured a double all-composite sport airplane, the third one in the world in SLE class. The other two ones have been built in America. -ISNA - 4/25/11

Iran announces discovery of new cyber attack "Iranian experts have identified the particular characteristics of Stars Malware," Commander Gholamreza Jalali told Mehr News Agency today, adding: "The virus is compatible and harmonious with the [computer] system and in the initial phase it does minor damage and might be mistaken for some executive files of government organizations." - 4/25/11

Iran, Turkmenistan, Kazakhstan to Build Joint RailwayForeign ministers of Iran, Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan, Qatar and Oman will sign a transit cooperation pact in Ashgabat. The first five-sided meeting between foreign ministers of Iran, Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan, Qatar and Oman was held in Tehran in November 2010. -Moj News - 4/25/11

Darien Expert Unravels Carpet Mystique The only way to tell the difference between a real Persian rug and a copy from Pakistan or China is to train your eye, says Easton resident Bijan Janati, owner of Shiraz Antique Carpets in Darien. -The Daily Easton - 4/25/11

Tehran Raps Washington for Depriving Jailed Iranian Woman of RightsA senior Iranian Foreign Ministry official called on Washington to issue entry visas for the family of Shahrzad Mir-Qolikhan, an innocent Iranian woman held in the US jails for the last three years, to let them have a meeting with her, and lambasted the US authorities for depriving Shahrzad of her Vienna Convention rights. -FNA - 4/24/11

Iran: Opposition leader's wife released from house arrest for a medical visit Fatemeh Karroubi was allowed to leave her home, where she is under house arrest with her husband Mehdi Kraroubi, to receive medical treatment. Saham News, the website close to the opposition leader Mehdi Karroubi, reported that on April 23 Fatemeh Karroubi was finally allowed a visit with her doctor. -Zamaneh - 4/24/11

First Chornobyl, Then Fukushima. Will Nuclear Energy Survive? When reactor No. 4 at the Chornobyl nuclear power plant exploded 25 years ago, it seemed nuclear power might die with it. Around the world, people recoiled in horror as radioactivity from Ukraine spread with the wind. As it settled hundreds and even thousands of kilometers away, scientists monitored the concentrations to see if the areas would become too dangerous to inhabit. -Charles Recknagel, RFE - 4/24/11

Leading Human Rights Lawyer Detained on Spurious Charges The Iranian Judiciary and Intelligence Ministry should immediately release prominent human rights lawyer Mohammad Seifzadeh, the International Campaign for Human Rights in Iran said today. The Campaign expressed serious concern regarding Seifzadeh's baseless detention and reported ill health. He has been denied access to his attorney, and other internationally guaranteed due process rights. - 4/24/11

IRGC Commander Terms EU Sanctions against Iranian Officials "Ridiculous"Commander of the Islamic Revolution Guards Corps (IRGC) Major General Mohammad Ali Jafari downplayed the effects of the unilateral and international sanctions against Iran, saying the recent embargoes imposed by the EU against a number of Iranian officials are truly "funny and ridiculous". -FNA - 4/24/11

Iran safest source of gas supply to Europe: OMV Director Iran is the safest source for supplying Europe with gas, the director of Austrian oil and gas giant OMV said on Sunday. Thomas McCulloch added that Iran has the world's second largest natural gas reserves and it is not a correct decision to omit the country from Nabucco project. - 4/24/11

Iran on edge as ally Syria fights for survivalWhen Syria's president visited Iran late last year, he received a heroes' medal and spoke about unbreakable bonds in a ceremony broadcast on national television. Now, a nervous leadership in Iran has imposed a media blackout on Bashar Assad's struggle against a swelling Syrian uprising and Tehran faces the unsettling prospect of losing its most stalwart ally in the region. -AP - 4/24/11

Khazaali: Ahmadinejad will Stab the Supreme Leader in the Back Alef website had reported earlier that the minister of intelligence had been forced to resign "on pressure from the presidential office" because he had dismissed one of his deputies who was "the representative of Mashai and the derailed group." -Mohammad Reza Yazdanpanah, Rooz Online - 4/23/11

Iran leader's warning appears to rebuke president Iran's supreme leader warned Saturday he will intervene in the government's affairs anytime necessary in an apparent rebuke to President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad for challenging the clerical leader's all-encompassing authority. -AP - 4/23/11

Conservative Iranian MP says elections can't be healthy A conservative Iranian MP has expressed doubt regarding next year's parliamentary elections and accused government of "illegal" practices. Set for March 2012, it is the first national vote since the controversial 2009 presidential elections that sparked mass protests due to allegations of vote fraud. -Zamaneh - 4/23/11

Nobel Peace Prize Winner Ebadi Says Iran Is Like A 'Fire Under The Ashes' Iranian Nobel Peace Prize winner Shirin Ebadi says Iran's heavy-handed state crackdown could be pushing the country toward a revolution. The 2003 Nobel laureate said the Iranian establishment has not shown any flexibility toward the demands of Iranians for change and said as a result, the country has become like a "fire under the ashes." - Golnaz Esfandiari, RFE - 4/23/11

Reports: Syrian Forces Kill 8 Mourners Attending FuneralsRights groups and witnesses say Saturday's shootings took place in the Damascus suburb of Douma and southern town of Izraa. Thousands of people had gathered at the locations to pay their last respects to some of the 75 people reported killed on Friday after witnesses said security forces fired shots and tear gas at anti-government demonstrators. - 4/23/11

Rights Lawyer Sentenced In Iran 'Missing' Mohammad Seifzadeh was sentenced to nine years in prison in October for "acting against national security" by setting up the Center for Human Rights Defenders, which he co-founded with Nobel Peace Prize-winner Shirin Ebadi and two other lawyers. - 4/23/11

Iran vs. Iraq: Why Tehran Is Nervous About Iraqi OilIranian oil-ministry officials are worried that Tehran's clout will actually weaken in OPEC, which as a group decides on each member's maximum amount of oil output. Current Gulf rival Saudi Arabia is the heaviest hitter in the cartel; meanwhile, old rival Iraq has started to ramp up oil production. -TIME - 4/23/11

New Legislation In U.S. Congress Targets Iranian Civilian Flights When President Obama told Iranians this past Norooz, "though times may seem dark, I am with you," NIAC presented several small but significant steps the President could take to support a brighter future for the Iranian people. Meanwhile, Representative Brad Sherman (D-CA) was busy working on legislation to turn out the lights on hopes of building goodwill between the U.S. and ordinary Iranians. - 4/22/11

Iranian Ministry Cracks Down On 'Immoral' Sex Ads Iran's Ministry for Cultural and Islamic Guidance has demanded that pharmacies remove "immoral" advertisements for products such as condoms and anti-impotence drugs. The demand came in a letter to the Health Ministry on April 20. - 4/22/11

Websites supporting Ahmadinejad filtered in Iran At least four Iranian websites known to support Mahmoud Ahmadinejad have been filtered by the Islamic Republic Internet Filtering Commission. Dowlatyar website published a harsh criticism of Ahmadinejad's detractors last Tuesday. The report warned that persistent attacks on the government could lead to "bloody street confrontations." - 4/22/11

NIAC Ambassador Strives to Connect the Younger Generations "Our history has been filled with experiences of loss and disempowerment, and I believe getting involved in our community can help us work through some of the adverse effects of our recent history and to gain a stronger sense of belonging," said Nasrin Rahimieh, NIAC Ambassador. -Sarah Ravani - 4/22/11

Iranian hunger strikers sew their lips together in protest at UK deportation Four Iranians, including a 17-year-old boy, are on hunger strike and have sewn their lips together with fishing wire in protest at plans by the British government to send them back to Tehran. The four men are among six hunger strikers who say they were tortured after taking part in protests that swept Iran in 2009 -guardian - 4/22/11

Dutch-Persians Commemorate "Ordibeheshtgan" Today, 22 April (2nd day of the Persian month 'Ordibehesh') will mark Ordibeheshtgah Festival. Ordibeheshtgah is one of the main Festivals of Persians (Iranians) since thousands of years. In ancient Persia people were believing that the 2nd day of the month Ordibehesh belongs to an angel who represents honesty and purity. - 4/22/11

Raid on Refugee Camp in Iraq Raises Questions A raid by Iraqi security forces on a camp of Iranian opposition exiles earlier this month set off an international outcry about human rights abuses and raised old concerns about Camp Ashraf and its inhabitants. The United Nations reports the raid left 34 dead and called on the Iraqi government to launch an inquiry. -VOA - 4/22/11

Iran, China to form joint oil, gas committee Iran and China will establish a "joint oil and gas committee" to accelerate the execution of energy projects between the two countries, the Iranian minister of economic affairs and finance said in Beijing on Thursday. - 4/22/11

Afghanistan's Imports from Iran Reach $1.2BThe head of Iran's eastern province of South Khorasan's commercial organization, Nader Mirshekar, said that the Islamic Republic of Iran's share in Afghanistan's $6 billion of annual import has reached $1.2 billion. -FNA - 4/22/11

The Latest Enemies of Iran: Dogs and Their Owners Lawmakers in Tehran have recently proposed a bill in parliament that would criminalize dog ownership, formally enshrining its punishment within the country's Islamic penal code. -Azadeh Moaveni, TIME - 4/22/11

Happy Saadi Day! I happened to spend the night in a garden with one of my friends and we found it to be a pleasant cheerful place with heart-ravishing entangled trees; its ground seemed to be paved with small glass beads whilst, from its vines, bunches like the Pleiades were suspended... - 4/21/11

Photos: Off-road competitions in Lahijan, northern Iran The national off-road championship competitions was held in the city of Lahijan in northern Iran last week. Off-roading is a term for driving a vehicle on un-surfaced roads or tracks, made of materials such as sand and gravel, riverbeds, mud, snow, rocks, and other natural terrain. -Abouzar Bazri - 4/21/11

Iran seeking to enter international market for computer games As the first computer game on contemporary Iranian hero, Mir Mahna was an Iranian national hero who defeated the Dutch forces and liberated southern Iranian cities from the colonizers at the end of the reign of Nader Shah Afshar (1736-1747). - 4/21/11

U.S. State Department Reaches Out To The World Online Last month, hoping to elicit a condemnation after news that Iranian opposition leaders Mir Hossein Musavi and Mehdi Karrubi had been placed under house arrest, Iranian democracy activist Amir Hossein Etemadi signed in to Twitter and sent a message to the U.S. State Department's newly launched Persian-language account -RFE - 4/21/11

Iranian commander warns against new forms of "sedition" The head of Iran's Basij militia has described the latest mass protests against the Islamic Republic government as "a deep sedition" and warns that future seditions will be more difficult to recognize. The Iranian establishment uses the word "sedition" when referring to the protests that erupted in 2009 following allegations of fraud in the presidential elections. - 4/21/11

Iranian Firms Entering World Markets via Turkey Iranian companies are finding their way to the world economy through Turkey, developing strong trade ties in recent years, Hurriyet Daily News reported quoting a Turkish business official as saying. -Moj News - 4/21/11

A Friend Remembers: Ehsan Yarshater on the late Nosratollah Amini I wanted to write about my father Nosratollah Amini on the second anniversary of his death (April 20th) and how profound an effect his death has had on me. I said to myself, maybe I should just stay silent and let someone else who knew him speak this time. -Fariba Amini - 4/21/11

Iran's Leadership in Political Spat Over Key Post Two of Iran's top leaders are embroiled in a political dispute over the country's influential information minister, part of a continuing dispute over the Islamic Republic's future course. In recent months, state-run media reports have portrayed Ahmadinejad and Khamenei at increasing odds over the political and social direction of the nation. -VOA - 4/21/11

Photos: People Living In The Margins - Jask, Iran These photos show the people living in the margins of the town of Jask in southern Iran. Jask is a port town, situated on the Gulf of Oman, about 1,050 miles south of Tehran. Jask is part of Hormozgan Province. -Hemmat Khahi - 4/20/11

Tehran Students Protest University 'Garrison' Tehran University students are protesting the extensive presence of security forces on their campus, saying such measures are turning the university into a garrison, RFE/RL's Radio Farda reports. - 4/20/11

Makers of controversial film "Appearance Is Near" pursued in Iran The film Appearance Is Near, a documentary claiming that the re-appearance of the 12th Imam of the Shiites is near, has kicked off a controversy in Iran, and many members of the clergy have spoken out against it. Shiites believe that the 12th Imam's re-appearance will occur on the day of judgement. - 4/20/11

Iran Attends Caspian Dialogue 2011 An international economic forum Caspian Dialogue-2011 was launched on April 18 in Moscow, Russia, Itar Tass reported. High on the agenda of the forum is "the policy of the Caspian regional countries in the mineral resources and the Caspian legal status," the forum organizing committee said. -Moj News - 4/20/11

IAAB Seeks Grantwriting Intern Iranian Alliances Across Borders is currently seeking a grant-writing intern. The grant-writing intern will be responsible for conducting the full range of activities to prepare and submit grant proposals to foundation and corporate sources. - 4/20/11

Lift Sanctions Or Face $150 Oil: Iran's Central Banker The head of Iran's central bank warned that oil prices will rise above $150 a barrel if economic sanctions against the Islamic Republic are not lifted soon. "Iran can have an effect on world energy and fuel. Fuel prices will go up dramatically," Mahmoud Bahmani said in a recent interview with The Washington Times at a meeting of the International Monetary Fund in Washington. - 4/20/11

India Examines Rupee Option for Iran Crude Payments India is studying the option of paying for crude oil from Iran in rupees even as it is working on an interim arrangement to pay in hard currencies through a West Asian bank, Telegraph India reported. -Moj News - 4/20/11

A Film Angers an Emirate FestivalIn retrospect, perhaps the curators of the Sharjah Biennial should have thought twice before inviting the participation of an Iranian-American filmmaker whose biggest hit to date - a quasi-documentary about himself was called "I Am a Sex Addict" and whose film before that followed along aimlessly while he tripped on hallucinogenic mushrooms. -NY Times - 4/20/11

Iranian-American Claims FBI Endangered HerA naturalized citizen of Iranian descent says the FBI violated her privacy and endangered her family's life by delivering documents about her to Russian intelligence officials, who can be expected to share them with Iran. -CNS - 4/20/11

Photos: City of Tabriz Covered In Smog Iranian big cities continue to suffer from severe air pollution. These photos by Mahsa Jamli show Tabriz, the 4th largest city in Iran, covered in smug. - 4/19/11

Women's Worlds in Qajar Iran: A Digital Window to Women's History The goal of Women's World in Qajar Iran is to address a gap in scholarship and understanding of the lives of women during the Qajar era (1796 - 1925) in Iran by developing a comprehensive digital resource that preserves, links, and renders accessible primary-source materials related to the social and cultural history of women's worlds in Qajar Iran. - 4/19/11

Iran's Nobel Laureate Ebadi Warns Of Unrest Among Ethnic Arabs In Iran Iranian Nobel Peace Prize winner Shirin Ebadi has warned the United Nations of the possible spread of unrest in Iran's Khuzestan Province, home to most of the country's ethnic Arab minority. Ebadi sent a letter to UN Human Rights Chief Navi Pillay in which she describes a deadly crackdown by Iranian security forces last week on a peaceful protest in Khuzestan's capital, Ahvaz. -Golnaz Esfandiari RFE - 4/19/11

Photos: Cyrus Cylinder Returns to British Museum Exhibiton of Cyrus Cylinder in Tehran's National Museum came to an end on Saturday. Considered the world's first declaration of human rights, the Cyrus Cylinder had been loaned by the British Museum to Iran since September 2010. - 4/18/11

Leaders of Sedition Have a Popular Base: Khamenei's Representative Two months after the house arrest of the leaders of Iran's Green Movement Mir-Hossein Mousavi and Mehdi Karoubi, along with their wives, ayatollah Khamenei's representative in the Revolutionary Guards (IRGC) spoke of the futility of confronting the leaders of the Green Movement. - 4/18/11

IT BEARS REPEATING! Binyamin Netanyahu is scheduled to come to Washington and to address the joint session of the US Congress in late May, and also to appear at the annual meeting of the Israel lobby, AIPAC, where the "Iranian threat" will undoubtedly be used, yet again, to extort American sympathy, taxpayers' money and unquestioned support. -Kam Zarrabi - 4/18/11

The Birth of Hope: For Bahareh Hedayat and her 30th Birthday Bahareh turned 30 in Evin prison on April 5. Last year for Bahareh's birthday we gathered in her home to celebrate. I arrived there with trepidation. Would the party be allowed to go on as planned, or would it be interrupted by security forces? It was unclear, but trepidation and fear had become a part of our lives as activists. -Sussan Tahmasebi - 4/18/11

Photos: Kite Flying Festival in Lahijan, Iran A kite flying festival was held in the city of Lahijan on Saturday. Lahijan is located in the Iranian northern province of Gilan. The city, which has an Iranian-European urban structure, is in the southern slope of the Alborz and is about 15 miles away from the Caspian Sea. -photos by Abouzar Bazri - 4/18/11

Office of Iranian Art and Culture Foundation In Tehran Targeted by Arsonist The office of Iranian Art and Culture Foundation in Tehran became the target of an arsonist on Sunday. Hojjatoleslam Mohammad Ali Zam, the manager of the foundation, told Mehr News Agency that on Sunday morning an unidentified man driving a pickup truck had broken the glasses of the building and then started a fire that consumed the building and everything in it. - 4/18/11

Contradicting reports about resignation of Iran's Intelligence Minister While a number of Iranian news agencies reported that Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Khamenei has overruled the resignation of Heydar Moslehi as Minister fo Intelligence, the official website of the Iranian government still carried the news that Mahmoud Ahmadinejad has approved the resignation of Moslehi. -Zamaneh - 4/18/11

Iran Sanctions Information Session in Los Angeles Erich Ferrari, author and trade sanctions legal expert, will dis cuss how you can become informed and aware of what it takes to comply with U.S. trade sanctions. Here's your chance to hear from a leading source of information on this matter. - 4/18/11

Bijan Pakzad Passes Away Bijan Pakzad (born 1944), a well known designer of menswear and fragrances, passed away on Saturday April 16th 2011 after suffering a stroke on Thursday night. -PAAIA - 4/18/11

IRNA journalist arrested by intelligence office in Kurdistan A reporter for the Iranian state new agency IRNA has been arrested in southwestern city of Sanandaj. IRNA reports that Manouchehr Tamri was arrested by "six unidentified individuals" in Sanandaj. "These individuals inspected Tamir's home and confiscated his computer and laptop without providing any IDs," IRNA writes. - 4/18/11

Germany Bows to International Pressure over Iranian Bank The German government will abandon its resistance to the EU's imposing sanctions on a Hamburg-based Iranian bank that is regarded as key to Iran's nuclear ambitions. Berlin had been opposing the step owing to the economic importance of German exports to Iran. -Spiegel - 4/18/11

Iran: Ayatollah Rafsanajni Criticized By Representative Of The Supreme Leader Iranian Supreme Leader's representative in the Revolutionary Guards expressed concern regarding the political stance of Ayatollah Hashemi Rafsanjani, Chairman of Iran's Expediency Council. ISNA reports Ali Saeedi told a gathering in the City of Mashhad that Hashemi appears to still support the "regime's enemies." - 4/17/11

Iran Oil Show Makes Mockery of Sanctions: Newsmax Hundreds of foreign oil companies are taking part in a major industry exhibition that opened in Tehran on Saturday, making a mockery of U.S. and European Union efforts to impose sanctions on Iran's oil and gas industry, according to an article by Ken Timmerman published by Newsmax. - 4/17/11

Syria and Iran's similar ways in dealing with protesters On Wednesday a Syrian opposition and non-governmental organization that has been working for freedom of speech in this country, has disclosed a confidential document belonging to Syrian Intelligence Service. According to 30mail News agency, this confidential document reveals the Syrian governmental force's methods of dealing with protesters which is extremely similar with Iranian government's methods. - 4/17/11

Chinese Firms Dominate Iran Oil Show 2011 Chinese companies have widely presented in Iran's 16th International Oil, Gas, Refining & petrochemical Exhibition (Iran Oil Show 2011) which opened on April 15 and will run to April 19. -Moj News - 4/17/11

Iran says Siemens behind Stuxnet cyber attack The director of Iran's Passive Defense Organization has said that the German engineering conglomerate Siemens should be held responsible for the infection of Iranian industrial sites by the Stuxnet computer worm. -MNA - 4/17/11

Iranian Opposition's "Grey Eminence" Iran's former ambassador to Jordan, Nosratollah Tajik, who is under house arrest in Britain based on false allegations, has written a letter to former U.S. boxing champion Mohammad Ali Clay, requesting him to pursue his case. -MNA - 4/16/11

Eight Dervishes Arrested In Iran Eight Gonabadi dervishes are reported to have been arrested in different cities across Iran, in a fresh crackdown on members of the Shi'a-Sufi order, RFE/RL's Radio Farda reports. - 4/16/11

European-Iranian Commercial Bank may go under German sanctions European-Iranian Commercial Bank (Eihbank) may come under European Union sanctions soon, a German daily reports. The Suddeutsche Zeitung daily reports that Germany has stopped its objections to imposing sanctions against the Europaisch-Iranische Handelsbank. - 4/16/11

Iran-Turkey open new border crossing Iran and Turkey opened a new border crossing point on Saturday. Checkpoint Kapikoy will operate on the border between the Iranian province of Western Azerbaijan and the Turkish province of Van. - 4/16/11

Clinton Says Iran Seeks to 'Hijack' Mideast ProtestsU.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton Friday accused Iran of trying to exploit and hijack democracy protests in the Middle East and North Africa. Clinton spoke at the end of a NATO foreign ministers meeting in Berlin focusing on Libya and regional unrest. -VOA - 4/16/11

Iran calls for UN intervention in Bahrain Iran is calling for immediate UN intervention in Bahrain to "end the massacre of the people of Bahrain." Iranian Foreign Minister Ali Akbar Salehi sent a letter to the UN Secretary General and Security Council urging immediate action. - 4/16/11

International Oil Expo Opens in Tehran Iran opened the 16th international gas, petroleum and petrochemistry expo. Iranian Oil Minister Massoud Mirkazemi and President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad were presented in the opening ceremony of the expo on Friday. - 4/16/11

Political Prisoners Begin Hunger Strike In IranAt least five prominent political prisoners at Rajaeeshahr prison in Iran are on hunger strike to protest being denied the right to visits, phone calls, and temporary leave for medical treatment, RFE/RL's Radio Farda reports. - 4/15/11

Attar tomb adorned with flowers An annual ritual, the mausoleum of the Persian classical poet Farid ud-Din Attar (c. 1145-1221) in Neyshabur was adorned with flowers during a ceremony on April 14. - 4/15/11

New sculptures embellish Tehran Several new sculptures has been set up across the city of Tehran during Noruz, adding more color to the polluted and smoky Iranian capital. - 4/15/11

UN: 34 Killed In Iraqi Raid On Iranian ExilesA UN official says 34 people were killed in an Iraqi Army raid last week on a camp of Iranian exiles. The statement today by UN human rights spokesman Rupert Colville in Geneva is the first independent confirmation of the death toll during the raid on Camp Ashraf on April 8. - 4/15/11

US Says Iran Helping Syria Quell ProtestsThe U.S. State Department said Thursday it has credible information that Iran is helping the Syrian government quell anti-government protests. Meanwhile a top U.S. diplomat is returning to Bahrain to try to ease a conflict between authorities and protestors there. - 4/15/11

Khamenei Was No Ordinary Baby, Cleric SaysWhile most babies cry after they are born, Iran's Supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei called the name of the first Imam of the Shi'a as he was about to be born. That's according to Ayatollah Mohammad Saeedi, the Friday Prayer leader of the Iranian holy city of Qom. -Golnaz Esfandiari, RFE - 4/15/11

Top PEN Prize to Honor Nasrin Sotoudeh, Jailed Iranian Lawyer, Writer, ActivistPEN American Center today named Nasrin Sotoudeh, a writer, lawyer, and leader of the women's and children's rights movement in Iran, as the recipient of its 2011 PEN/Barbara Goldsmith Freedom to Write Award. Sotoudeh was arrested on September 4, 2010, and is now serving an 11-year sentence for her outspoken advocacy... - 4/14/11

Is Iran Still Center Of Middle East's 'Great Game?' From being the most assertively visible actor in the Middle East, it has seemingly become quiet and unnoticed, almost the forgotten country. Yet three months into what has become known as the "Arab awakening," non-Arabic-speaking Iran remains the giant elephant in the living room for foreign-policy makers in Washington. -Robert Tait, RFE - 4/14/11

Iranian parliamnet postpones controversial bill on NGOsThe Iranian Parliament has temporarily shelved a bill that would give the government unprecedented power over non-governmental organizations. MPs had already approved 26 articles of the bill titled "Establishment and supervision of the activities of non-governmental organizations." -Zamaneh - 4/14/11

Dust storms hit Iran's western provinces Heavy dust storms hit the western and southwestern provinces of Iran including Lorestan, Kordestan, Kermanshah, and Khuzestan on Wednesday, making breathing difficult for people and forcing officials to take some stopgap measures like closing the schools and government offices. - 4/14/11

Bahrain accuses two Iranian nationals of espionage According to Bahrain News, "collecting economic and military information and relaying it to senior Revolutionary Guards officials with an intention to harm Bahrain interests from 2002 to 2010" is the charge brought against these individuals. - 4/14/11

Iranian Group Seeks U.S. Shield After Iraqi RaidMembers of a blacklisted Iranian dissident group were joined by former U.S. officials on Wednesday in calling on the United States to protect them after a raid on their camp by Iraqi government forces last week that the dissidents say left 34 people dead and 318 people wounded. -IHT - 4/14/11

Mideast Experts Warn of Dangers for Democracy MovementsA former U.S. Secretary of State warned on Wednesday that democracy in Egypt and Tunisia is still threatened by entrenched powers and extremism, while Arab democracy activists urged the new governments there to guarantee justice, transparency and minority rights. -VOA - 4/14/11

PARSA CF Awards Two Major Grants to Iran Heritage FoundationAs a part of its Mehrgan 2010 Grant Cycle, PARSA Community Foundation is pleased to announce grants to two strategic and long-term initiatives spearheaded by London-based Iran Heritage Foundation (IHF). IHF was founded sixteen years ago as a non-political UK charity and has organized diverse activities of cultural or scholarly merit on a world-wide basis. - 4/13/11

NIAC Launches Student Initiative: NIACampusTo find more information about starting a student group on their campus, Iranian-American students have virtually nowhere to turn. In fact, as of right now, Iranian-American students and student groups across the country have no way of easily interacting and working with one another to share stories, resources and experiences. This is where NIACampus comes in. - 4/13/11

Photos: Golestan National Park, IranA group of foreign travelers and researchers from Canada, England, Scotland and Australia are visiting the Golestan National Park in northern Iran to study rare tulips and other flowers that grow in the park during the spring season. -Aboutaleb Nadri - 4/13/11

Photos: Dust Storm in Ahvaz, IranA severe dust storm in the city of Ahvaz in southwestern Iran has brought life to a halt causing schools and offices to close. The storm has also affected some of the other cities in the province of Khouzestan. -Amir Hosein Kardouni - 4/13/11

Iranian Journalist Charged Over 'Unauthorized Blog'Prominent Iranian journalist and human rights activist Zhila Baniyaghoub is facing a new criminal charge based on statements written on her blog. Baniyaghoub is editor in chief of the Focus on Iranian Women website and also writes in her personal blog, "We Are Journalists." - 4/13/11

Happy Attar Day Throngs of people will rendezvous at the tomb of Farid ud-Din Mohammad ibn Ebrahim Attar (c. 1142-1220) in Neyshabur tomorrow to commemorate the Persian poet and mystic once again. - 4/13/11

Iranian children aged 6-12 now covered by dental insurance All of Iran's health care centers have been informed that children aged 6-12 now have dental insurance, in line with a government decision made over the past year, the director of the Department of Mouth and Teeth Health of the Health Ministry announced on Wednesday. - 4/13/11

Clinton Rejects 'One-Size Fits All' Approach in Middle East U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton on Tuesday gave one of the most comprehensive speeches yet by the Obama administration on the recent changes in the Middle East. She said America strongly supports democratization in the region, but rejected what she called a "one-size fits all" approach. - 4/13/11

Iran: Parliament ignores concerns of independent civil society organisations over draft billNobel Peace Laureate Shirin Ebadi and nine human and labour rights organizations today expressed dismay at parliamentary proceedings in Iran which look set to pass into law a bill which appears intended to wipe out independent civil society in the country, in violation of international standards on freedom of association and assembly, which Iran is obliged to uphold. - 4/12/11

Factory Workers On Strike In Southern IranStrikes and protests by Iranian workers are now spreading to large factories. Workers at two major industrial enterprises in Iran's southern province of Khuzestan are on strike, RFE/RL's Radio Farda reports. - 4/12/11

Iraq to dismantle Iranian dissident camp by end of 2011 Iraq says it will go ahead with its earlier plan to quash the activities of the People's Mojahedin Organization of Iran and will close down the settlement of Iranian dissidents, Camp Ashraf, by the end of 2011. -Zamaneh - 4/12/11

My Version: An Online Exhibition by Neda TavallaeeBorn in 1973 in Tehran, Neda Tavallaee studied art at the University of Fine Arts in her hometown. She has spent her life studying the position of women in her society and in her own words she recounts her understanding thereof: 'Women in the middle east have always had a sense of mystery about them. -Gallery Mamak - 4/12/11

EU Ministers 'Set To Impose Sanctions' Over Iran Rights AbusesBritain says the European Union is set to impose sanctions on 32 Iranian officials over human rights abuses. Foreign Secretary William Hague said EU foreign ministers would agree visa bans and asset freezes at their meeting in Luxembourg today. - 4/12/11

Freed journalist: Iranian regime's 'information fears'Iranian journalist Maziar Bahari was held in a Tehran jail for 118 days in 2009. His arrest came as he worked for western media outlets, including BBC Panorama. In this analysis, Mr Bahari explains why the regime fears information, the internet and a free press. -BBC - 4/12/11

Iran's Ahmadinejad fires controversial chief of staffIranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad dismissed his chief of staff on Saturday, the official IRNA news agency reported, sidelining a controversial figure who is seen as a possible future presidential contender. -Reuters - 4/12/11

Photos: Farahnaz Village, Iran's Central Desert Farahzad is an Iranian desert village located on the northeast border of Iran's Isfahan province. Two families live in this village who live off of farming and raising livestock. The beautiful desert landscape around this village and its vicinity have been captured by the photographer Mona Hoobehfekr for all to enjoy. - 4/11/11

Iran's Lalejin and Italy's Faenza named sister cities The Iranian city of Lalejin and the Italian city of Faenza, both known for their glazed earthenware pottery and ceramics, were named sister cities during a seminar on 150 years of Iran-Italy friendship held in Hamedan Province on Sunday. - 4/11/11

Syria to make Newroz a public holiday in 2012The government of Syrian President, Bashar al-Assad, has promised to make the Kurdish New Year's festival of Newroz into an annual national public holiday, starting in 2012. - 4/11/11

Iran: Shazand oil refinery development plan 93% completeThe first phase of the project with the capacity to produce 2 million liters of gasoline per day came on stream at the cost of $3.5 billion in February. By completion of the remaining phases of the refinery, the nation's gasoline production capacity would be raised by 12 million liters per day. - 4/11/11

Photos: Iran unveils new solar-powered car A new domestically manufactured solar-powered car named the Ghazal 2 was unveiled at the University of Tehran on Sunday. The new car is an enhanced model of the Ghazal 1, which was previously designed by students of the University of Tehran. -Fatemeh Behboudi, MNA_URL - 4/10/11

Iranian political prisoner pressured "to make false confession" Vahid Talayi, a member of Mir Hossein Mousavi's election campaign, is reportedly being pressured by his interrogators to confess that he has ties to the People's Mojahedin Organization, the dissident exile group that the Islamic Republic views as a terrorist group and an archenemy. -Zamaneh - 4/10/11

Iranian political prisoners announce hunger strike Political prisoners at Karaj's Rejaishahr Prison have announced a hunger strike in solidarity with Fakhrosadat Mohtashamipour, who has been going without food at Evin Prison in pursuit of a personal visit with her husband. - 4/9/11

US Human Rights Report Raps China, Iran, Belarus The U.S. State Department's annual report on human rights expressed hope Friday that the protests against authoritarian rule sweeping the Middle East will yield sustainable democracies in the region. The report included sharp criticism of the human rights records of China, North Korea, Cuba and Belarus, among others. - 4/9/11

Tehran Stock Exchange value hits $125B Tehran Stock Exchange's (TSE) value has surpassed an all-time high of more than $125 billion on Saturday as a new record for the past 44 years of its activity. The TSE's main index, TEPIX, has registered a new record over a boost from the stocks of metal and shipping industries. - 4/9/11

Fuel Loading Resumes At Iran's Bushehr Plant The Russian company that built Iran's Bushehr nuclear power plant says it has started reloading fuel into the reactor, more than a month after the fuel was ordered removed because of contamination concerns. - 4/9/11

Casualties Rise in Syria During Anti-Government Protests Protests heated up across the Middle East and North Africa Friday. The heaviest casualties were reported in Syria, where at least 36 people were killed, but battles continued in Libya and Iraqi government troops clashed with Iranian exiles. -VOA - 4/9/11

Middle East: "No state or political movement will remain unaffected"The advent of social media and widespread internet access has broken down boundaries between the people of the Arab nation and brought together a generation keen to see their respective countries progress under new governance, free of corruption, nepotism and repression. -Fresh Outlook - 4/9/11

PAAIA to Relaunch Mentorship Program for Iranian-AmericansPAAIA's mentorship program provides the opportunity for Iranian Americans to receive one-on-one guidance from highly accomplished professionals within the Iranian American community. Application process for the 2011 Mentorship Program will begin on April 15, 2011. - 4/8/11

Revolutions and Exorcism: 2011 and 1848 Revolutions The Communist Manifesto was, of course, written shortly before the 1848 Revolutions that swept European cities, from Sicily to Paris, Vienna, Berlin, Budapest and Prague. These revolutions were varied and, depending on their locations, represented somewhat different aspirations. Yet, for the most part they had an underlying economic dimension that was reflected in the demands of the working class as sketched out in The Communist Manifesto. -Sasan Fayazmanesh - 4/8/11

Iranian-American Reflections from the Campaign Trail Los Angeles, CA - Despite the large Iranian-American population here in the United States, the number of Iranian-Americans elected to public office can be counted on two hands. Why is this the case? Why have Iranian-Americans flourished in the private sector, while failing to make waves in the public sector? ... -Nobar Elmi, NIAC - 4/8/11

Swiss aerial photographer showing images of Iran in London "Paradise Lost, Persia from Above", a collection of 14 large fine art prints taken by Swiss aerial photographer Georg Gerster, opened April 7 at the Wilmotte Gallery in London. Between 1976 and 1978, Gerster was given rarely granted permission to record the landscape of Iran. The pictures included in this unique archive were gathered from over 100 different flights. - 4/8/11

FROM UMD TO CAIRO: BEING IN THE MIDDLE OF AN UPRISING The Nile, Pharaohs and now Tahrir Square evoke iconic symbols representing the fascinating country of Egypt which, like many of its neighbors, is going through major upheaval. When young people came to Tahrir Square and demanded change, no one could have predicted that in a few weeks Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak, ruler for 32 years, would be forced to leave and so quickly. -Fariba Amini - 4/8/11

Senator Graham Calls for Military Strikes on Iran if Sanctions Fail "If sanctions fail, and the President believes they're going to fail, then you have to put on the table military force," said Senator Lindsey Graham (R-SC), outlining his plan for confronting Iran during a speech today at Johns Hopkins School of Advanced International Studies. -NIAC - 4/8/11

India Faces Fresh Hurdles in Paying For Iranian Crude Oil Imports The problems in disbursing money to Iran for oil shipments first surfaced in December, when India's Central Bank stopped payments through a regional financial clearing house that the United States says is used by Tehran to avoid international sanctions. -VOA - 4/8/11

Iran wants to retrieve Mesbah-1 satellite from Italy The Islamic Republic Space Agency is trying to recover the communications satellite Mesbah-1 from Italy. The head of the Iranian Space Agency, Hamid Fazeli, told ISNA it is capable of launching this satellite, but Italy is using excuses such as sanctions and resolutions to avoid handing it over. -Zamaneh - 4/8/11

Photos: RoboCup IranOpen 2011 The sixth RoboCup IranOpen competitions and symposium opened in Tehran on April 5 and will go on till April 9. Iranian RoboCup National Committee and Qazvin Azad University are organizers of this event. This event provides an environment to present and share scientific achievements in the areas of Artificial Intelligence (AI) and Robotics. - 4/7/11

Protests Continue in Tabriz: Families of Prisoners Attacked The gathering of families of arrested political activists in Azerbaijan province on April 2 (the day of the Iranian Spring festival when Iranians traditionally picnic outside their homes) turned into a verbal and physical confrontation between them and security forces. The gatherings continued the next day, with no word from authorities on the conditions and fate of the detainees. -Kaveh Ghoreishi, Rooz - 4/7/11

Iran ready for talks without preconditions: UN Envoy Iran's permanent envoy to the UN Mohammad Khazaei said the country is ready for talks without any preconditions. Iran and the P5+1 last met in Istanbul where they discussed Iran's nuclear issue and its package of proposals. -ISNA - 4/7/11

Bahrain Continues Crackdown Behind the ScenesAuthorities in Bahrain are carrying out a continued crackdown against opposition supporters. Human rights groups report nightly raids in residential areas, violence at checkpoints and arbitrary arrests. Many say a lack of widespread international condemnation is partly to blame for the situation as much of the world focuses on other regional conflicts. - 4/7/11

The Seemorgh Ensemble present "A Transcendent Homage" April 9, 2011 in Oakland -- The Seemorgh Ensemble will perform a colorful selection of Armenian sacred and secular choral repertoire as a well-deserved tribute to the legacy of the "House of Torgom." The program features works by Komitas in memory of the 75th anniversary of his passing. - 4/7/11

Iran's Blue-Collar RevolutionOn Feb. 28, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad boldly declared, "Iran is among the few countries in the world where no one goes to bed hungry." It's hardly the first grandiose claim the Iranian president has made about the state of the Iranian economy. -FP - 4/7/11

Sedagh Hedayat - Sixty years on On 4th April 1951, just sixty years ago, Sadegh Hedayat, Iran's most famous writers of short stories turned on the gas and ended his life in a flat in Paris. His life has intrigued many people and he has been the subject of many films and books. -Paul Sanford and Syma Sayyah - 4/6/11

Governments condemn Iran's reversal on jail terms for Baha'i leaders The seven were informed last month by prison authorities that the 10-year sentences - imposed after an appeal court revoked three charges against them in September last year - have now reverted to the lower court's ruling of 20-year jail terms. Nothing has been seen in writing by the prisoners or their attorneys. -BWNS - 4/6/11

Iran: Musavi's Son-In-Law Beaten Up At Funeral Former Iranian lawmaker Ali Shakourirad hasposted a photo on his blog of son-in-law of opposition leader Mir Hossein Musavi whom he says was beaten by security forces during last week's funeral for Musavi's father. - 4/6/11

Screening of "OUR SUMMER IN TEHRAN" in San Jose, and discussion with the director April 7, 2011 - American filmmaker Justine Shapiro took her young son Mateo to Tehran where they spent the summer with three Iranian families: a religious family with ties to the government; a cosmopolitan, secular family; and a single mom who is an actress. The result is a fascinating film that shows everyday life in Tehran, with stories and images unlike anything we are accustomed to seeing in the news media. - 4/6/11

Bahareh Hedayat, Iranian Woman Activist: "A Woman of Thirty" in Prison Like the millions of younger women and men of her generation, Bahareh desires rights, dignity, prosperity, family, and love. Why does she have to celebrate her 30th birthday in the Evin prison? What is the crime that she has committed that warrants her spending her 30s, the best years of her life, in solitary confinement?... -Elahe Amani - 4/5/11

Tourism bridges cooperation between the US and Iran With the blessing of the Iranian Cultural Heritage and Tourism Organization (ICHTO) Chairman, Hamid Bahjael, who is also Vice President of Iran, the American Iran Tourism Association, at the request of Mr. Hamid reza Talebi and under the management of Mr. Talebi, is operating in Tehran as the first organization registered to exclusively further tourism relations between the US and Iran. - 4/5/11

Persian Letters: Happy Birthday, Bahareh Hedayat Iranian student leader Bahareh Hedayat will celebrate her 30th birthday in jail today. It's also her wedding anniversary. Hedayat, a senior member of Iran's largest reformist student group and a women's rights activist, was arrested in the crackdown that followed the disputed presidential vote in 2009. She was sentenced to 9 1/2 years in prison on security charges. Her sentence is one of the heaviest ever issued for a student activist. -Golnaz Esfandiari, RFE - 4/5/11

Festival of the Silk Road in San Jose, California May 7th, 2011 - For the Festival of the Silk Road, Afsaneh Art & Culture Society unites a group of phenomenal Bay Area dance and musical guests to present a vibrant exploration of the rich cultural traditions of the Silk Road, as well as a not-to-miss pre-performance bazaar including traditional clothing, exhibits, art, and refreshments. - 4/5/11

Iranian professor and lawyer dismissed from university position Mohammad Sharif, the Iranian lawyer and law professor, was dismissed on Tuesday from Tehran's Allame Tabatabai University. Sharif is one of the founders of the Human Rights Defenders Centre in Iran, which was outlawed by the Islamic Republic following the post-election protests of 2009. -Zamaneh - 4/5/11

Iran to Raise Gas Output Capacity to 700 mln cum in 2012 The Islamic Republic of Iran plans to boost its gas production to 700 million cubic meters per day by March 2012, Deputy Oil Minister Mohsen Khojastemehr said on Monday. Iran has the second-biggest gas reserves in the world after Russia. -Moj News - 4/5/11

Ahmadinejad forecasts oil at $150 President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad has said that oil prices will reach $150 per barrel and the current crude prices were "not real". "The political circumstances are deciding the prices ... not the market ones," Ahmadinejad told a press conference in Tehran on Monday. - 4/5/11

Photos: The best of Sizdah Bedar 2011 in Iran The thirteenth day of the new year festival is Sizdah Bedar (literally meaning "passing the thirteenth day", figuratively meaning "Passing the bad luck of the thirteenth day"). This is a day of festivity in the open, often accompanied by music and dancing, usually at family picnics. - 4/4/11

The Prospect of Iran-US Relations in the Iranian New Year Global conditions in the concluding months of the past Iranian year (ended March 20, 2011) have had great bearing on Iran and the United States' role and influence in the Middle East region. There is no doubt that forecasting the prospect of the Iran-US relations in the Iranian New Year (March 2011-March 2012) will be of great significance. -Kayhan Barzegar - 4/4/11

30Bird Productions present: Seyf and Dobrowolski in "Poland 3 Iran 2" At the 1976 Montreal Olympics the best-ever Polish football team played against the best-ever Iranian football team. This match featured the pivotal Polish players Tomaszewski, Lato and Deyna and for Iran the magnificent Ali Parvin, aka 'The Sultan'. This clash of talent led to a memorable game with Poland clinching a 3-2 win and going on to win the Silver medal. - 4/4/11

Musician reviving forgotten Iranian instruments An Iranian musician is reviving some Iranian instruments, which have been forgotten over time. Majid Nazempur has remade the instruments to be showcased in a collection at the National Museum of Iran, he told the Fars News Agency on Sunday. -MNA - 4/4/11

Me, My Body and My MotherlandIranian artist Shahrzad Changalvaee is making waves with her evocative photographic works, exploring notions of typography and how we are bound to our human identity. -Canvas Guide - 4/4/11

Iran to boost gasoline output to 80 million liters Iran's gasoline production capacity will reach 80 million liters per day by the end of the current calendar year (March 20, 2012), oil minister said here on Monday. Masoud Mirkazemi added that some 23 to 27 million liters would be added to the nation's gasoline production capacity in the current year. - 4/4/11

Gulf Arab Bloc Condemns Iran Over Alleged 'Interference' The Gulf Cooperation Council of Arab-led states has condemned Iran for allegedly "interfering" in the internal affairs of the council's member states. The statement was issued after an emergency meeting of the mostly Sunni Gulf bloc in the Saudi capital, Riyadh, on April 3. -RFE - 4/4/11

Photos: Historic Golestan Palace, Tehran Golestan Palace is the former royal Qajar complex in Iran's capital city Tehran. The oldest of the historic monuments in Tehran, Golestan belongs to a group of royal buildings that were once enclosed within the mud-thatched walls of Tehran's Historic Arg (citadel). -Raouf Mohseni - 4/3/11

Terrorists kill four border guards in west Iran Four Iranian border guards were killed in a terrorist attack in Marivan in the western province of Kordestan on Saturday. According the Mehr News Agency, in the terrorist attack unidentified gunmen opened fire on a border police station, killing four police officers and injuring two others. - 4/3/11

Tehran to host OPEC's largest oil and gas expo Iran will hold IRAN OIL SHOW 2011, the largest oil, gas and petrochemicals exhibition in the Middle East among the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) member states. - 4/3/11

Obama Condemns Koran Burning, Afghan Revenge Killings President Barack Obama has denounced as "outrageous" the killings in Afghanistan that have been triggered by the burning of a Koran by a radical Christian preacher in the United States. In a statement released by the White House, Obama says "the desecration of any holy text, including the Koran, is an act of extreme intolerance and bigotry." -RFE - 4/3/11

The Larger Game in the Middle East: IranOn a Tuesday afternoon in mid-March in the White House Situation Room, as President Obama heard the arguments of his security advisers about the pros and cons of using military force in Libya, the conversation soon veered into the impact in a far more strategically vital place: Iran. -NY Times - 4/3/11

A Persian feast for the new yearI felt my mother-in-law looking down from heaven with concern as I spooned chicken consomme powder into the Persian Noodle Soup from the new cookbook "Persian Food From the Non-Persian Bride and Other Kosher Sephardic Recipes You Will Love!" by Reyna Simnegar. -Star Tribune - 4/3/11

Photos: Sizdah-Bedar -- Jamshidiyeh Park, Tehran These photos show the people of the capital city Tehran enjoying their Sizdah-Bedar at Jamshidiyeh park located north of the city. Sizdah-Bedar, an ancient Iranian festival, is held on the 13th of Farvardin (first month in Iranian calendar) and it marks the end of the Persian New Year (Norouz) celebrations. - 4/2/11

Photos: The Nature-People Reunion on Sizdah-Bedar Sizdah-Bedar, an ancient Iranian nature festival, is held on the 13th of Farvardin (first month in Iranian calendar) and marks the end of the Persian New Year (Norouz) celebrations. These interesting photos show the aerial views of various parts of Tehran in this day of nature-people reunion. -Raouf Mohseni - 4/2/11

Photos: Sizdah-Bedar in Gorgan, northern Iran People across Iran celebrated Sizdah-Bedar, the traditional Persian festival of nature, on Saturday by spending time outdoor. These photos show the people in the northern town of Gorgan, close to the Caspian Sea, enjoying their Sizdah-Bedar. -Aboutaleb Nadri - 4/2/11

Photos: Sizdah-Bedar at Mellat and Pardisan Parks, Tehran People across Iran celebrated Sizdah-Bedar, the traditional Persian festival of nature, on Saturday by spending time outdoor. These photos show the people of the capital city Tehran enjoying their Sizdah-Bedar in Mellat and Pardisan parks. -Khosrow Parkhideh and Mohsen Rezaei - 4/2/11

Iran to Slash Off Three Zeros from Currency Iran's finance and economy officials on Saturday reiterated the country's plan for lopping three zeros off the national currency, Rial, in a bid to accelerate and optimize trade and transactions. -FNA - 4/2/11

Connections made, friendships forged in a Bentleigh East kitchenIN a modest brick house in Bentleigh East, connections are being made and friendships forged over food. Six men and women from Iran, most strangers to each other until they met through a Griefline migrant program, have gathered to prepare a traditional southern Iranian lunch. -Leader, Australia - 4/2/11

Photos: Arpanah Falls in Lali, Khouzestan Arpanah waterfalls is located close to the town of Lali in the southwestern province of Khuzestan in Iran. This is one of the tourists attraction of the region and also a favorite destination during the Persian New Year (Nourouz) holidays. -Seyyed Ali Mousavinejad - 4/1/11

Funeral Renews Focus On Musavi, Karrubi House Arrests During the mass street demonstrations that followed Iran's disputed 2009 presidential vote, protesters warned of "Armageddon" if the government dared to arrest opposition leaders Mir Hossein Musavi and Mehdi Karrubi. Yet Musavi and Karrubi and their wives are under house arrest, and have been for six weeks now. So where have their supporters' promises gone? For now, on the surface at least, all appears to be quiet. -Golnaz Esfandiari, RFE - 4/1/11

Exiled Iran Religious Scholar Calls For Debate On Nuclear Safety Hassan Yousefi Eshkevari, a prominent Iranian religious scholar, has called for a debate among intellectuals and political activists about the safety of nuclear facilities in earthquake-prone Iran. The call, issued in an article published on the opposition "Jaras" website, comes as nuclear safety is under intense scrutiny as Japan battles nuclear catastrophe. - 4/1/11

Video Game Play and Addiction: Interview with Kourosh Dini The winner of a Mom's Choice Award and the National Parenting Publication Award for his book, Video Game Play and Addiction: A Guide for Parents, Kourosh Dini, MD is a psychiatrist, author and musician. Dini's other works include Creating Flow with OmniFocus and his blog, KouroshDini.com, through which he shares his musings on the mind, music, play, productivity, and technology. -Wendy Armington and Neda Nabavi, PAAIA - 4/1/11

Senior members of Iranian clergy commiserate with opposition leader Ayatollah Yousef Sanei, a senior Qom cleric, announced his condolences: "I hope all the people who have suffered harm for their struggle to realize people's rights and in particular his honourable son is released from this illegal house arrest and is once more allowed to enjoy his human rights." - 4/1/11

How Obama Can Reach the Iranian People: Start with VisasObama should take the seemingly small but vastly important step to repeal the Single Entry Only policy and allow Iranian students to obtain a multiple-entry visa to study in US schools. There is no better way to convey our friendship with Iran's youth than to offer an outstretched hand as Iran's government clenches its fist. -Jamal Abdi, Huffington Post - 4/1/11

Saudi Intervention In Bahrain Is Playing With Fire: Iran'a Parliament Committee The statement also said, "Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates have complicated the issue by sending troops to Bahrain. This measure is like the occupation of Kuwait by (former Iraqi dictator) Saddam (Hussein), but with the difference that the occupation (of Bahrain) is done with the agreement of the United States." -MNA - 4/1/11

Iran plans to invest $90B in South Pars Iran's Oil Ministry plans to invest about $90 billion in South Pars gas field in the current Iranian calendar year (started March 21), Oil Minister Masoud Mirkazemi said. - 4/1/11

Kuwait cabinet resigns to avoid questioningAbout 30 percent of Kuwait's 1.15 million people are Shiites, and they have staged a number of demonstrations in support of protesters in Bahrain. Even as Kuwaiti Sunnis have staged demonstrations in support of Bahrain's ruling Sunni monarchy. -Zamaneh - 4/1/11

Bahraini Opposition: More than 300 Detained in CrackdownBahrain's largest Shi'ite opposition party says the Persian Gulf state's minority Sunni rulers are intensifying arrests of opposition activists, with more than 300 detained as part of a crackdown on pro-democracy demonstrations. - 4/1/11

Iran to Account for 14.79% of MEA Power Generation by 2015: BMI Business Monitor in Its Q1 2011 report on Iran's Power Sector forecasts that the Islamic Republic will account for 14.79% of Middle East and Africa (MEA) regional power generation by 2015, with a broadly balanced market if nuclear generation plans proceed uninterrupted. - 4/1/11